Three officials with knowledge of the matter — two based in the United States and one from a Western government — said the directive to restrict a satellite network that Ukraine relies on for front-line communications and drone guidance originated at the White House. A communication reached Pentagon leadership conveying that operations under the SpaceX Starshield contract supporting Ukraine's armed forces be scaled back.

Those sources, granted anonymity as a condition of their cooperation, left unanswered both the question of which White House figure authorised the directive and who bore responsibility for carrying it out.

The Department of Defense stands as the primary customer for Starshield, a version of the Starlink network built to meet military specifications. Built to serve government and national-security customers, Starshield developed inside SpaceX as a dedicated initiative with no civilian mandate.

According to those officials, the constraints made it harder to carry out strike operations against Russian troops and supply lines in occupied areas, while also reducing the effectiveness of interceptor drones tasked with neutralising incoming Shahed drone attacks. Units manufactured to military-grade tolerances began malfunctioning when deployed on high-speed platforms, local officials reported, with the breakdowns interrupting the navigational systems that drones relied on for directional control while airborne. According to a representative at Ukraine's Defence Ministry, the sensors functioned while the vehicle was moving, though only at velocities below 100 miles per hour (160 kph).

The decision to place temporary limits on the communications network followed calls from Trump for Kyiv to halt drone and missile strikes on Russian oil-processing facilities, which he has attributed to upward pressure on energy costs. Analysts point to regional military tensions — particularly confrontations involving the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other — as a driving force behind the rise in energy prices, with strikes on energy infrastructure and disruption to Strait of Hormuz shipping routes cited as contributing factors.

When asked about any directive to restrict Starshield, a senior official stated that no such instruction had come from the president — though the White House left unanswered questions about whether others within the administration had put forward that request.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Musk — who leads SpaceX — noted that Starshield systems fall under full government ownership and control, meaning decisions about speed caps or usage restrictions rest with the military or the president. No comment came from SpaceX when the outlet sought a statement. Neither the Department of Defense nor the Ukrainian embassy in Washington returned messages seeking comment.

A gathering held in Miami on 9 October — drawing together delegations from Ukraine, the United States, European nations, and the World Bank — left ties between Kyiv and Washington noticeably strained in the days that followed. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff — the latter serving as the administration's envoy to the Middle East — conveyed a pointed message to Ukrainian representatives during the meeting, a source with knowledge of the discussions told reporters.

Ukrainian officials were informed that Washington had grown dissatisfied with Kyiv's ongoing attacks on oil-refining infrastructure inside Russia, a position conveyed despite multiple prior requests for those operations to halt. Members of the delegation went on to address the fuel agreement reached with Russia, noting that the administration had entered into it with the aim of encouraging a more flexible posture from Moscow at the negotiating table.

The agreement — covering delivery of more than 2.25 million barrels of diesel to markets in the United States and elsewhere — drew objections from a number of US legislators, who argued that it would channel funds to Moscow without obliging Putin to offer any concessions toward ending the conflict.

In the days that followed, Zelenskiy and Trump exchanged pointed public statements — Zelenskiy characterising the decision to permit a Russian diesel transaction as falling short of a firm stance, while Trump put forward demands for Ukrainian elections and called for Zelenskiy to step down from office. Reports emerged that officials were weighing a halt to the flow of missile-launch intelligence that Kyiv relies on to intercept incoming strikes, according to prior coverage by a news outlet. On Tuesday, the president indicated that intelligence-sharing with Ukraine remained active.

Following those two days — Tuesday and Wednesday — Ukrainian representatives contacted officials at the White House, the State Department, and the Pentagon, seeking answers after Kyiv's access to Starshield was curtailed. A senior Ukrainian official, speaking on the matter, noted that Kyiv had been told the decision traced back to the White House.

Contracts worth billions of dollars have directed Pentagon funding toward both the Starlink and Starshield programmes. Among those purchases were dedicated Starshield satellites — covering communications hardware tied to missile-warning operations alongside a reconnaissance constellation built for the National Reconnaissance Office — details that emerged through media reporting during 2024.